What is America’s Cuisine?

A Report From Wine Explorer Diego Samper – America’s Cuisine

Dear Reader,

If I had to ask you – what is America’s cuisine?

I’m not talking about TikTok trends or the latest food truck. I mean something people make with pride. Something that carries family tradition and local character. Something that still tastes like home.

Last week, I asked you to send in your favorite recipes and wine pairings. A few came in – some playful, some precise, all rooted in something real.

A meatloaf mix of veal and lamb, seasoned with homemade mushroom powder. A roadsid burger joint in St. Petersburg, Florida, that one reader swears by. Another note reminded me that the real secret to a perfect steak might be knowing who raised the steer.

But the message that really sent me down the rabbit hole came from one of you – Vince – who casually mentioned he’s a Master Judge with the Kansas City Barbeque Society.

Turns out, he travels the country scoring ribs, brisket, pulled pork – working with an organization that treats BBQ as more than food. It’s craft. It’s tradition. It’s identity.

On their website, their mission reads:

“Recognizing barbecue as America’s Cuisine, the mission of the Kansas City Barbeque Society is to celebrate, teach, preserve, and promote barbecue as a culinary technique, sport, and art form.”

That last phrase – art form – stuck with me.

And honestly? I think they’re right.

Barbecue is America’s cuisine. Not because it’s flashy or fast—but because it’s regional, resilient, built on time and patience. Because it’s taught, shared, argued over. Because it tells a story.

Because recipes, like art, aren’t fixed. We all adjust. We substitute. We improvise with what’s on hand. We do our best with what we have.

It reminded me of a paella recipe my parents used to make – especially when the house was full. After a visit to my aunt’s in the U.S., they mailed them the recipe. The first one was dated August 27, 1992 – typed up and printed out by my aunts, like we used to. A few years later, they sent a revised version in 1997 – by email this time.

A family paella recipe handwritten in ’92, updated in ’97. Still on the table.

I saw both versions recently. No stains – but it’s survived, tucked neatly into plastic folios at my aunt’s house, like something that still matters. And it does.

Each time we made it, something changed. A missing ingredient. A new pan. One year we used shrimp from a different shop – and it ended up being the best version yet.

Wine works the same way.

No vintage is identical. The weather shifts. The barrels change. Sometimes you have too much of one variety and not enough of another. But if you know what you’re doing – and you care enough – you find a way. You leave a note. You make it work.

In 1872, an Italian nobleman named Baron Bettino Ricasoli wrote what may have been the first recorded recipe for wine – his now-classic blend for Chianti Classico. He wrote that Sangiovese gave the wine structure and aroma. Canaiolo softened the edges. Malvasia added lift and freshness. It wasn’t a brand strategy. It was a man trying to explain how to get it right. For himself. For others. For next time.

And now, summer is here.

The days are long, the air thick with heat and wood smoke. The 4th of July is just around the corner, and across the country, barbecue recipes are being pulled from drawers, memory, email chains, and old cookbooks. They’ve been marked up, edited, handed down – just like the wines we send you.

Write your recipes. Pass them along. To your kids. To your grandkids. I’m sure they’ll appreciate it.

And if you’ve got one you’d like to share with me – I’d love to see it. You can write to me directly at explorers@bonnerprivatewines.com.

And if you’re planning to open something special this weekend, we’re offering 2-day air shipping plus an icepack for $19.99 this summer. It’s too hot to risk anything else. We ship with ice packs to protect your bottles – or, if you prefer, we’re happy to hold your wine until October in our temperature-controlled cellar for free.

Let us know, and we’ll set something aside for you before it’s gone.

When you do open a bottle – especially one of our high-altitude reds – don’t be afraid to serve your red wine cold. With this heat, it’ll warm up slowly in the glass. You’ll notice how it changes. Even better: serve small pours, but serve them twice.

Here’s to fire and flavor.
To recipes written down and passed on.
To the quiet structure beneath good food and honest wine.

And to a 4th of July worth remembering.

Salud,

Diego Samper

Bonner Private Wines